


Insufferable (But Important)

by starstruck_xavier



Series: Xavier's Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Crying, Hurt Roman, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Logan is a good friend, M/M, adrenaline crash, all other sides mentioned, but interpret it however you want, injured roman, injuries, injuries are not described graphically or anything, light fluff, no romance implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25573699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstruck_xavier/pseuds/starstruck_xavier
Summary: Bad Things Happen Bingo - Adrenaline CrashRoman's still running on adrenaline when he returns to the mindscape after almost four days in the imagination. When he finally crashes, Logan's there with a box of bandages, a couple of fun science facts and a few reassuring sentiments.(bthb on my tumblr: starstruck-xavier)
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: Xavier's Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837843
Comments: 5
Kudos: 53
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Insufferable (But Important)

“I'm telling you, Logan, I don’t feel that bad at all.”

Logan huffs with frustration as he examines the very real-looking wounds on Roman’s abdomen. The prince had just stumbled in from the imagination in the middle of the night; Logan was waiting outside the magical door as per Virgil’s and Patton’s request, as it had been a while. A while, or, in Logan’s words, three days, seventeen hours and thirty-six minutes. Upon catching the glimpse of red, and the red wasn’t just from the sash, he immediately felt a twinge of hurt just looking at him.

"You’re likely still experiencing an adrenaline rush.” The logical trait tries to keep his voice as steady and level as ever, but even he knows what’s particularly gruesome to look at. “I'll warn you, after some time your adrenaline levels will deplete rapidly and you’re going to feel a lot of pain. Let me know when it does.”

Roman makes a non-committal sound, clearly not believing that there’ll be a crash at all. "I can handle it.”

There’s a short silence as Logan simply continues to clean up the injuries on the man sitting on the kitchen counter before him. Then, he sighs. "Care to explain what happened to you?”

At least the sound of Roman recalling the story gives Logan something else to focus on while he prepares rolls of bandages and checks elsewhere around the body for cuts and bruises. He imagines how the other sides would react to finding out about Roman’s injuries; Patton would stay by his side for weeks and fret like a worried parent, Virgil would probably try to ban Roman from the imagination (the imagination only belongs to the creative sides, but Virgil is ever persistent), Janus would only pretend not to be bothered whilst still insisting about the importance of self-care and side-eyeing Roman from a distance, and Remus would… well, it’s difficult to predict Remus. He could do anything, from showing a sudden brotherly empathy and being softer with him to starting a competition on who can get even more wounds. Probably the latter.

Logan’s attention is brought back to Roman as he catches his words faltering. The prince’s shoulders start to tremble and he hunches over, wincing, suddenly exhausted.

"Are you okay, Roman?” He skips the ‘I told you so’ comment, figuring that it wouldn’t be received well. Roman just exhales shakily in response; taking the time to tell the tale must’ve calmed him down and caused the crash to happen. Logan frowns when he sees the tears quickly gathering in Roman’s eyes. "You’re going to be okay soon. Just take it easy, alright? No more imagination adventures until you’re fully healed.”

The attempt at a laugh that Roman makes comes out breathy and is accompanied by a new pair of tear tracks running down his face. "Fair enough.” The laugh morphs into a snivel, and Roman rubs at his eyes in an attempt to save face, shrug it off, it’s fine. But Logan’s looking at him with softened eyes, his hand still touching the gauze he just applied to Roman’s side, a delicate but grounding touch that starts the waterworks all over again, and oh god, he just looks so _un-princely_ and he’s breaking down in front of someone who he’s just always wanted to be good enough for. Roman waits for the condescending words, the scoffs, the sound of disinterested footsteps fading away from him…

But none of that happens. Instead, he feels Logan’s other hand rest on his knee, tracing circles with his thumb. "It’s okay to cry, Roman. Crying releases endorphins into the bloodstream, and they act like a natural painkiller.” The logical trait gives a tiny smile for reassurance. Something about him in that moment makes him look oddly adorable, like he’s just trying to help in the way he knows how, and that lessens the excruciating pain just a little. "Emotional comfort is not my area of expertise, you’re better off asking Patton for that, but just know that I…” Logan shifts his glance to the side as his cheeks start to tinge a bashful pink. “I'm here for you. You may be insufferable, but it troubles me to see you hurt, and when you didn’t come back after a day I was considering going looking for you. It was Janus who made me stay, just in case it was dangerous.”

That chokes Roman up a little more, but in a better way. He knows just how reluctant Logan usually is to go into the imagination, so the thought of him willingly going in there just to find him…

"Thanks.” Roman meets Logan’s gaze. "Thank you. It… It means a lot, coming from you.”

Logan moves his hand away from Roman’s waist to adjust his glasses absentmindedly, then nods kindly. "It’s quite alright. Let’s get you to somewhere more suitable to rest and change you into some less restrictive clothing.”

After some shuffling about from the both of them, Roman finally lands his feet back on the floor with a grimace. Being careful not to grab anywhere that’d hurt, Logan steadies him and starts to walk with him to the creative side’s room. It takes some time with Roman’s sudden lethargy and exhaustion, but he perseveres only at the thought of being able to rest in his own bed for the first time in days, and that persistence overrides the shooting pain in his feet from walking through his imaginary world for so long in those uncomfortable boots of his. He should really create something with memory foam.

He’s practically a dead weight when it comes time for him to change his clothes, but weirdly enough Logan doesn’t complain or simply leave him to it; he’s helping him. The top half of Roman’s outfit had already been removed on arrival as Logan wanted to check the damage, but that was all. Now, the injured prince who’s teetering on the border of slumber has to change entirely into something more comfortable, and he barely has the energy to use his instant outfit-swapping magic, so he leaves it to Logan. Just two minutes later, Roman’s wearing a considerably less regal looking combination of loose shorts and a baggy red shirt, but at least it feels nicer than the usual outfit that was tugging against the most painful areas of his body and was such a pain to remove, and now he’s going to have to repair that when he’s better rested and—

“Roman.” Logan crouches in front of the bed to meet his eyes. “I'd avoid falling asleep with that posture, you’ll hurt your neck.”

A small smile reaches Roman’s lips. "I wasn’t falling asleep, just thinking.” Upon a puzzled look from Logan, he continues. "You’re, uh… taking care of me. I never thought you’d…” He trails off, unsure of how to finish his sentence, unsure in general.

"You never thought I'd care about your wellbeing? Roman, you’re—” Logan seems to catch himself before he can show any kind of emotional outburst, inhaling slowly before continuing quietly. "You’re important. Not just to Thomas, and the rest of the sides, and Thomas’ audience, but to me. I might come across like I don’t like you or appreciate any of the ideas you create, but that’s just because our intentions for Thomas are so different. Roman, while you were gone, yes, Virgil was incredibly stressed and Patton constantly asked me if I thought you were coming back soon, but as for myself… I— I missed… having you around.”

The look on Logan’s face appears almost sad, like he doesn’t want Roman to leave again, and the prince quickly tries to suppress the new wave of tears. He pats the spot next to him on the bed to encourage the logical trait to sit next to him. "I missed you too. There were moments in there, as I fought some of the hardest battles, that I thought perhaps I wouldn’t make it back.” He could’ve sworn he saw a flash of panic on Logan’s face, but as quickly as it’s there, it’s gone as he composes himself again, always able to control his exterior so easily. "But I persevered, because who else was Virgil gonna listen to rock music with? Who else was Patton gonna bake with? Who else were you gonna call insufferable?” Roman’s lips quirk upwards, and finally Logan returns the smile, if only for a short while. "Seeing you, waiting for me as I returned, it lifted my spirits.”

The remnants of that smile tug at Logan’s lips as he hums shortly but fondly. "That’s good to hear. I was waiting for quite a while, y’know.”

"Oh, I do hope you didn’t hurt your back from sitting too long, specs.” Roman playfully teases him and nudges his shoulder, although his laugh is a little subdued by the dull pain in his own spine.

Logan rolls his eyes, but he still looks amused. "Well, it is vital that we make sure you’re fully rested, so I'll leave you be.”

The smiles leave Roman’s eyes for a moment. "Can’t you stay?” He holds out one hand, earning a look of confusion from Logan. "This is kinda the part where you start to leave and then I grab your wrist and ask you to stay for the night. …Oh come _on_ , it’s a cliche, Calculator Watch.” The harmless snarkiness dances on his tongue, but it seems to be the slightly saddened look in his eyes that could only come from someone whose muscles are aching like there’s no tomorrow to really perfect his persuasion.

Logan huffs at that last remark, but still manoeuvres the both of them until they’re underneath the patchwork quilt on Roman’s bed. "You know that I don’t catch onto cliches very well.” Still, a feeling of contentment arises in his chest as he removes his glasses and places them on the nightstand before turning onto his side to face Roman. "Is this okay?”

Roman takes a blissful moment to fully absorb the image of Logan without his glasses, captures the sight of subtle shadows under his eyes and how the colour of his irises looks so much more beautiful up close. He reaches to turn off the bedside lamp and drapes one arm over Logan’s waist, pulling him closer to his chest as fatigue from his adventure finally catches up to him.

"Wonderful.”


End file.
